Ten Months in Which I Did Not Fall in Love
by Liete
Summary: -UK/Fem!US, AU- 'Just where had that silly girl gotten it into her head that they were friends'
1. September through February

**Ten Months in Which I Most Certainly Did Not Fall in Love  
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**By: Liete**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia or any of the characters portrayed.**

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**September 20XX**

It was his duty as Student Council President to greet the new transfer student. Arthur continued to remind himself of that fact as he marched down the hallway towards the entrance, the other students scattering to clear a path as he walked. He wouldn't have minded much, except that the incoming student was an American, and the only thing that could possibly be worse than an American would be if the new student was French. He shuddered at the thought of another Francis terrorizing (that is, molesting) the student body, and pushed such unpleasant thoughts out of his mind.

There was no new student waiting at the doors when he arrived and he sighed in annoyance. Late to start the term and now late on her first day. He already knew he was going to have a smashing time with this one, and he hadn't even met her yet. He continued to wait several minutes and was just about to give up when a rowdy looking blonde burst through the doors, nearly smashing him in the face.

"Helloooo, everybody! Your hero has arrived!" the girl proclaimed loudly, despite the halls being empty due to classes having already started. She pouted when she realized that there was no one around. "Mm, no one's here to greet me? What a let down."

Arthur took that moment to clear his throat and announce his presence and the girl immediately whipped around to stare at him. He noted with great distaste her complete disregard for the uniform requirements. She wasn't wearing a tie, there was no sweater or blazer to be seen, and the topmost buttons on her blouse were undone. Not that he was staring at her chest. He was just scrutinizing her appearance like anyone would.

He didn't get a chance to give a formal greeting because her eyes widened and she pointed a finger at him, or more specifically at his eyebrows. "Holy hairy caterpillars, Batman! What are those things growing on your forehead?!"

Arthur was too young to have high blood pressure, but he could swear he felt it steadily rising. Oh yes, he was going to have an absolutely _smashing_ time with this one. His eye twitched and he seethed through his teeth, "they're called eyebrows, and I'll thank you not to comment on them."

"Good god! Hang on, I have some tweezers in my purse!" She started rummaging in her bag, but Arthur reached out and grabbed her wrist. She looked up and blinked at him in surprise.

He narrowed his eyes "That won't be necessary, miss. My name is Arthur Kirkland, I'm the Student Council President and I'm here to make sure your first day goes smoothly. I can already tell that 'smooth' is impossible at this point, but let's make this as painless as possible, shall we? What is your name?"

"Abigail F. Jones, at your service, m'lord!" She paused to wink and salute. "But call me Abby!"

"Abigail, then." He ignored her puffing out her cheeks in indignation and turned to leave. "What is your first class? We're already late, so do hurry up." It was probably something like remedial English or cooking, he thought to himself with a satisfied smirk.

"Umm, looks like it's advanced physics!" Abigail announced and bounced into step next to him with a sunny smile.

Arthur froze in his tracks and stared in complete disbelief at the girl. "Advanced physics," he repeated flatly.

"Damn straight!" she chirped proudly and tossed her hair.

Yes, his blood pressure was definitely rising. Someone somewhere must have been having a good laugh at his expense. He was having trouble with physics and that infuriating girl was in the advanced class. Rubbish, absolute rubbish.

"Yes, well…hurry it up, then." He wasn't about to lose face and he held his head up as he marched defiantly towards the science labs.

"Man, you're really a hardass, aren't you, Eyebrows?" Abigail pouted as she followed after him.

He gave her a sharp look at the nickname and slowly clenched and unclenched his fists in an attempt to quell his growing rage. "I'm the president, I can't afford to be soft or this school would fall apart."

He saw her rolling her eyes out of the corner of his eye, but opted not to comment on her childish attitude.

He faintly wondered if he could pawn the task of assisting her the rest of the day on the vice president.

**October 20XX**

Arthur was going to have a coronary at the age of seventeen.

Someone somewhere was clearly having a ruddy good laugh at his expense and took great pleasure in watching him suffer.

That infuriating Abigail F. Jones had quickly risen in the ranks of popularity, friendly even with the studious types like Eduard and Kiku. He wouldn't have minded in the slightest if she didn't insist on bothering _him_ every chance she got. Starting "freedom riots" in the hallways protesting the tyrannical rule of the class president and generally ruining the careful order he'd worked so hard to obtain in the school, calling him "Eyebrows" and taking bits of his lunch and then insulting his cooking, along with rubbing in his face that she was stronger than him and better at science and math than him. He'd since dropped all pretenses of being polite and a gentleman and just flat out told her that he thought she was the most insufferable person he'd ever had the displeasure of meeting. She hadn't cared and just slapped her palm against his back while declaring, "you're so funny, Eyebrows!"

Of course someone was taking pleasure in his pain. _She_ was.

With Halloween fast approaching, she'd apparently taken it upon herself the task of scaring him so much he'd wet his pants in fear. Foolish Abigail had no idea what she was up against, and Arthur knew that was his chance to get back at her for all the grief she'd given him.

When the day arrived, he commandeered the student council room for himself and, dressed in dark robes, set to work with chalk and herbs and ancient incantations. Soon he had a group of the most terrifying ghosts ready and willing to strike fear into the heart of an arrogant teenage girl.

Her screams were music to his ears, and he didn't even feel guilty when she started crying.

**November 20XX**

"Do you care to repeat that, Abigail?" Arthur asked through clenched teeth in the most calm voice he could manage when it came to that girl.

"I'm going to host a Thanksgiving dinner! Besides Christmas the Fourth of July, Thanksgiving is the most awesome holiday ever! What's _not_ to like about eating the best damn food you'll ever have? You can't cook, though. You'll just ruin it," she added with playful smirk.

Arthur, however, was not amused. He rested his elbows on his desk and folded his hands as he closed his eyes. "Absolutely not. All student events require approval from the student council, and I most certainly will _not_ approve such a ridiculous idea."

Abigail's eyes widened and she slammed her hands on the desk. "What?! Why not? This really is tyranny! I'll start another freedom riot for this, you know!"

Arthur twitched and opened his eyes. "Don't be foolish, Abigail. You _do _realize that a large number of students aren't even American and don't celebrate that holiday, don't you?"

"All the more reason for me to host a dinner! So everyone can see the awesomeness they're missing out on! Come on, Eyebrows, you know you want to join in!" She whined and leaned over the desk, trying to use those big, blue eyes and that chest of hers to her advantage. Arthur coughed into his fist and looked away.

"I still refuse to approve such an idea. That's quite enough, Abigail. I have other, much more pressing issues to attend to, thank you," he said with an air of finality and stood to walk over to the door, which he opened and motioned for her to leave.

"You'll regret this, Eyebrows! Mark my words!" Abigail shouted as she ran through the door and down the hall.

He didn't think much of her threat at first, but then came the demonstrations. Abigail managed to gather a sizeable group of students in the main hall, where they sat down everyday and refused to move. The crowd slowly grew and grew as the days went by, but Arthur refused to relent. It was after they started singing "Give Peace a Chance" (or maybe it was "peas" he couldn't quite tell), and principal Rome insisted that he approve the idea that he finally gave up and let the thrice damned girl have her Thanksgiving dinner.

He attended, of course, but he didn't have a good time. Really.

**December 20XX**

"Merry Christmas, Eyebrows!" Abigail chirped brightly and held out a poorly wrapped package towards him.

He raised a skeptical (huge) eyebrow at her as he closed the student council room door behind him. "What is this now?"

"What does it look like? A Christmas present!" She scoffed and rolled her eyes. She shoved the package into his hands and folded her arms behind her back as she bounced back and forth from her heels to her toes with an expectant smile.

Arthur looked down at the package and then incredulously at the girl in front of him. "And just why would you give me this?"

"Why wouldn't I? We're friends, aren't we?" She tilted her head to the side with a hurt look.

Arthur felt like he'd been punched in the stomach. "Friends" was the last word he'd ever use to describe their relationship, and yet, here she was, giving him a present like a friend would. Just where had that silly girl gotten it into her head that they were friends?

"Open it! Open it!" Abigail squeaked excitedly, breaking his thoughts.

"Ah…right," he said and tore the paper off, revealing what looked like a piece of fabric underneath. Unfolding it revealed it to be a scarf. Not just a scarf, but a poorly made one. Had she really _made_ it for him? He'd never really had friends before, and had never been given a present like that before. His cheeks flushed of their own accord. "It's…wonderful, Abigail. Thank you."

"I worked damn hard on it, so it better be!" Abigail said with that arrogant toss of her hair. She quickly melted into a bubbly pile of girlish excitement and clutched at his sleeve with bright eyes. "So whadya get me?"

Arthur pulled his arm away as if shocked, but then lowered it slowly. He didn't have the heart to tell her the truth, and just smiled sheepishly. "Happy Christmas, Abigail."

**January 20XX**

It was with only the slightest bit of jealousy that Arthur watched the other students enjoying the snowfall from the window of the student council room. He didn't have time for such frivolous activities, not when there were always problems around the school like complaints of sexual harassment from Francis, or Gilbert blowing up the girl's restroom on the first floor, or that young boy Peter trying to sneak into the school for the umpteenth time. Not to mention Abigail's near daily shenanigans in her quest to be the school's hero. His hands were always full, and the vice president was so air headed that he couldn't depend on his help. Sometimes he was even _part_ of the problem, as he was prone to streaking naked through the halls after his siestas and causing Vash to open fire.

So no, he wasn't that jealous of the other students enjoying the snow day that had been called by the principal (who he noticed was also outside playing in the snow), when the day off school meant he could catch up on the backlog of work that had piled on in peace.

The peace didn't last long as the door burst open and Abigail rushed in. Arthur sighed and lowered the stack of event requests. He could already feel the headache coming on, but turned to regard the American. He noticed, with his face steadily warming up, that Abigail really could be quite the attractive girl if she'd just cover up more, especially with those cold flushed cheeks. He quickly looked away again.

"May I help you, Abigail?" he asked the window.

"Nope, but _I _can help _you_! Get your coat on, you're coming outside!" Abigail stated and skipped in front of him.

He turned his head away from her again and pulled the event requests back into his hands. "I am not. I plan to use this free day productively, thank you."

"Oh, yes you are!" Abigail stamped her foot and started tugging on his arm. "You need to loosen up more, Eyebrows, or you're going to die at the ripe old age of twenty!"

"Let go of me, Abigail," Arthur warned sharply and tried to force his arm out of her strong grip.

"Just for an hour, Eyebrows! Pleeeease?"

Of course she went and used that doe-eyed look of hers that almost always made suckers of the other male students in the school. For once, it seemed, it was working on him, too. Or maybe it was just because he wanted to spend a little time outside anyway. Yes, that was it. It had nothing to do with Abigail.

"An hour _only_, and then I'm coming right back in," Arthur stated firmly and successfully wrenched his arm out of Abigail's grasp.

Abigail threw her arms in the air. "Yay! I'll meet you out there then!"

Arthur watched her skip out the door before he finally left to retrieve his winter gear from his dorm room, which included the scarf that Abigail made for him. He only wore it because he didn't have any other scarf, of course.

It would take a good deal of torture to get him to admit that he enjoyed that hour he spent outside in the snow with Abigail and the other students, who were surprised to see their uptight president actually having a good time. It would be a secret that he would take to his grave that he had felt an odd twinge in his heart when Abigail had fallen backwards in the snow with him, laughing merrily and looking prettier than he remembered her being. The redness on his cheeks could be blamed on the cold.

**February 20XX**

"I expect flowers and chocolates, you know! And not some half-assed, last minute stuff like at Christmas! This has to be a dozen roses and Swiss or Belgian chocolates of the finest quality!"

"What are you on about now?" Arthur asked with badly masked irritation. That girl had the uncanny ability to bother him when he least needed a distraction, and always with the most ridiculous ideas.

"For Valentine's Day! Don't tell me you forgot that, too!" She was sitting across from him, scribbling on some of his papers despite his protests.

His cheeks started burning, and he quickly ducked them behind a paper. How could she be so casual about such a thing? "I don't think I have any obligations to give you _anything_, Abigail. Unless you're planning to give me something, too." He cursed how hopeful he sounded with that last statement.

She wrinkled her nose. "No way! I'm not giving any guy anything! Well, except for Kiku, but only because he'll apparently pay me back in spades on his White Day next month."

He sighed, not out of disappointment, but frustration. "Well, there you have it. I'm not giving you anything, either. Now, if you would _please_ let me work for once, Abigail."

She huffed and slung her bag over her shoulder. "You really suck sometimes, Eyebrows."

He watched her leave and wondered if sending an anonymous rose would be too obvious.


	2. March through June

**Ten Months in Which I Most Certainly Did Not Fall in Love  
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**By: Liete**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia or any of the characters portrayed.**

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**March 20XX**

A bonfire in the middle of winter had seemed like a horrible idea at first, but enough students had insisted that he acquiesced to the idea and approved it. In the end, it was a big enough fire and there were enough students gathered that there was no need for winter coats. That didn't stop Abigail, who was sitting a little too close for comfort, from shivering and voicing her annoyance.

"I'm cold," Abigail stated with an irritated huff and tilted her head towards Arthur expectantly.

Arthur furrowed his brow and gave the girl a skeptical look. Just what did she want him to do about it? Change the weather? But then it occurred to him, she wanted him to give her his jacket. If she'd just follow the dress code and wore the sweater or blazer, it wouldn't be a problem, but he was a gentleman, after all, so he moved to pull off the garment to give to her.

In a move that shocked him senseless, she instead grabbed a hold of his arm and pulled it around her as she sidled closer to his side. If he'd been the slightest bit cold before, he wasn't now. Instead he wondered if she could feel how hot he'd become from her close proximity.

"So you know, if you were cold, I wouldn't do this," she said flatly, without even the slightest dusting of color on her cheeks. Arthur just sputtered in reply. Of course she wouldn't notice or care that she was making him very uncomfortable. Insufferable girl.

When he confiscated the liquor the "Bad Friends Trio" as they liked to call themselves had snuck in, he wound up in the student council room drinking more of it than he probably should have. Of course the fairies picked that moment to come tease him about how sweet he'd looked with Abigail and asked when he was planning to confess his feelings.

"I do _not_ fancy Abigail. That's rubbish. …rubbish," he slurred, not even convincing himself even in his drunken state.

The fairies just giggled into their hands as they flitted above his head.

**April 20XX**

"Mornin' Eyebrows! I've got something I want to show you!" Abigail said brightly as she pushed off the wall she'd been leaning against outside of Arthur's dorm room.

Arthur stared down at his watch. Seven thirty in the morning and she was already starting. That didn't bode well for the rest of the day. He ran his hand over his face and walked past Abigail as he addressed her. "What is it now?"

"Well, you gotta come with me first! Come on!" She grabbed onto his hand and tore through the hallway, dragging him behind her. Arthur's cheeks flared up instantly at the contact, and he desperately pushed down thoughts of how neatly her hand fit in his in favor of shouting indignant protests to being dragged so unceremoniously in front of the other bewildered students. As usual, she ignored him and kept going until she burst through the doors to the courtyard where she finally released his hand.

Arthur didn't have time to miss the feeling because the sight before him successfully quashed all other thoughts he might have had. His jaw dropped. It was a plane. No, not just a plane. A fighter aircraft. In the middle of the school's courtyard.

"What is this?!" Arthur finally choked out after the initial shock wore off. Abigail ran in front of him towards the jet.

"With this I'll finally end your reign of terror forever!" she exclaimed with a rather bizarre laugh and then climbed into the cockpit.

"Abigail?! What in the world are you doing?"

"What does it look like?" she huffed and put on a pair of goggles. "I'm gonna blast the student council room right out of the building so the poor students of this school will never have to live in fear of your tyranny ever again!"

"A-Abigail, stop! You can't be serious!" Arthur shouted and started running towards the plane as she started up its engine with a roar. "You git! Stop this at once!"

"Hey, Eyebrows?" Arthur whipped his head up towards the cockpit to see Abigail leaning over the edge with an amused smirk on her face. "April Fools."

**May 20XX**

It was his last chance.

Arthur glanced at Abigail out of the corner of his eye for the umpteenth time in the past hour. She was chewing on the end of her pencil as she did her calculus homework, completely harmless and nothing to be afraid of. So what was he waiting for? He sat back in his chair and opened his mouth, then quickly shut it and busied himself with his history notes before she could notice anything was amiss. He'd blown it again.

He'd been trying for weeks to ask Abigail to attend the dance at the end of the month with him, but had lost his nerve each time he'd attempted to do so. It was just a dance and it was just Abigail, what was the problem? Actually, she should be honored that he would deem to take her! It's not like it meant anything. Yes, that was the ticket. Arthur steeled himself with new resolve as Abigail gathered up her things and followed the other students out of the library.

"Abigail, may I speak with you?" Arthur asked with absolutely no waver in his voice.

"What is it, Eyebrows?" Abigail replied and stopped to face him.

"About the dance at the end of this month…I, well…" With Abigail staring at him, he choked on the words once again.

"Yeah, I'm not much for dances and stuff like that, but Ivan asked me, so I guess I better go, huh?"

Arthur felt his stomach drop somewhere near his feet. "Ivan?"

"Yeah, the big guy? Always smiling, a little creepy? He seems like a nice enough guy," she mused and gave Arthur a look that might have been her seeking his approval of the situation.

Arthur simply nodded and ushered her out of the library.

He went to the dance anyway. It was his obligation as the student council president, he told himself. He danced with a few of the female students who timidly requested his time, but he was always looking over their shoulders. He wasn't looking for Abigail, he wasn't looking for Abigail. But every time he saw blonde hair, his heart raced.

Finally, there she was. Rather than some barely there dress like he'd been expecting, she was dressed rather tastefully, covered up, and did she have flowers in her hair? Arthur noticed that she was rather clumsy on her feet as she danced, and although he knew it was quite the opposite, she looked fragile in Ivan's arms.

Arthur straightened his tie and in a sudden burst of nerve and confidence, he made his way through the crowd towards the pair and tapped Ivan on the shoulder.

He almost crumbled under the rather intimidating aura the tall boy exuded, but he held his head up defiantly. "I'll be cutting in, if you don't mind, Ivan." It wasn't a question. He swept Abigail away, who smiled at him with barely concealed amusement while he tried to suppress his growing blush.

**June 20XX**

Arthur packed up the remainder of his personal belongings from the president's desk in the student council room and carefully wiped off the surface for the incoming president. Some idealist who would likely throw the school back into chaos, he thought with great distaste. Not that he wanted to stick around that dreadful place any longer.

But try to deny it though he might, he did feel a certain ache in his heart knowing what, or rather who, he was leaving behind. After that day, he might never see Abigail again.

He was most certainly going to have blood pressure problems later in life, and he couldn't remember what it felt like to _not_ have a headache anymore, but that girl was as commonplace in his life as teatime. He knew he'd go home and work at his desk there, and he'd be expecting her to burst through the door to tell him she'd blown up the science lab again. He thought he might even hear her voice calling him "Eyebrows" despite his strong dislike of the nickname. Eyebrows, eyebrows…

"Eyebrows!" Abigail shouted right in his face and he jumped backed in shock. "What kinda trance were you in? I've been saying your name for a few minutes now!"

"What do you want, Abigail?" Arthur asked in irritation, as irritation was the only way he knew to mask his true feelings.

Abigail looked hurt for an instant before she puffed out her cheeks in indignation and leaned over the desk to glare at him. "I come to say goodbye and _that's_ the response I get? Some friend you are!"

_I'm going to miss you. _Arthur thought, but rather than saying so, he just got even more irritated. "I don't recall us ever being friends, Abigail. You decided that on your own without anyone's input like with everything else you do. Thoughtlessly."

Abigail's lip trembled, but she lifted her chin in mock defiance. "Well! I thought you'd want to stay in contact with an awesome person like myself, but once a hardass always a hardass, eh Eyebrows?"

She turned to leave and Arthur panicked. It couldn't end that way. Without thinking, he raced around the desk and caught at Abigail's hand to tug her back towards him. She started to protest, but he cupped her cheek and, in a move that surprised him, kissed her. She froze for an instant, but only an instant, and then relaxed and reached a hand up to grip at his arm. He pulled away, his face on fire, and cleared his throat awkwardly. Likely she'd carry on obliviously like she always did.

But, finally, her cheeks were also bright red and she looked a little sheepish as she scratched at her head. An awkward silence hung in the air, but then the moment abruptly passed. Her eyes were bright and there was a small smile on her lips, half smug and half elated.

"Took you long enough, Eyebrows," she laughed with a goofy grin.

He rolled his eyes and said firmly, "_Arthur."_

Arthur didn't give her the chance to respond before he kissed her again, and this time she threw her arms around him and responded eagerly.


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